In Trimex International FZE Ltd Dubai v Vedanta Aluminium Ltd India, the Supreme Court of India held that the intention of the parties is paramount when deciding whether a dispute can be resolved through arbitration. In its judgment dated 22 January 2010, the court held that the absence of a signed agreement between the parties did not prevent a dispute between those parties being resolved by way of arbitration.

Dubai-based minerals trading company, Trimex, sought to resolve its dispute with Vedanta through arbitration. Vedanta resisted the arbitration on the ground that the parties had not entered into a written contact. The court rejected Vedanta's plea and held that the absence of a signed written contract between the parties should not stand in the way of arbitration. The court felt that the parties' intentions could be ascertained from a consideration of the surrounding documents, and that it was clear that "the intention of the parties was to arbitrate any dispute which arose." The court held that, "the mere fact that a formal contact has to be prepared and initialled by the parties would not affect either the acceptance of the contract so entered into or implementation thereof, even if the formal contract has never been initialled."

This is an encouraging decision and shows further commitment from the Indian Supreme Court to promote arbitration as a viable method of dispute resolution.